Archive for June, 2004

Allawi: No. I believe very strongly that Saddam had relations with al-Qaida. And these relations started in Sudan. We know Saddam had relationships with a lot of terrorists and international terrorism. Now, whether he is directly connected to the September — atrocities or not, I can’t — vouch for this. But definitely I know he has connections with extremism and terrorists.

Headlining an appearance with other Democratic women senators on behalf of Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is up for re-election this year, Hillary Clinton told several hundred supporters – some of whom had ponied up as much as $10,000 to attend – to expect to lose some of the tax cuts passed by President Bush if Democrats win the White House and control of Congress.

“Many of you are well enough off that … the tax cuts may have helped you,” Sen. Clinton said. “We’re saying that for America to get back on track, we’re probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

Move to New Jersey, Hillary, and sing along with McGreevy, who’s trying to “take things away” for G-d knows what. I don’t see any good — common or uncommon — out of this. As Val says, I work damn hard for my money.

A final word. Watch out for the household staff. They’re in something of a flutter right now, trying to keep track of who’s investigating whom about what. You may see former Oil for Food chief Benon Sevan wandering the halls, still wondering why he’s had so little praise lately for running an Iraq relief program from which no more than $10 billion or so was embezzled by Saddam–or maybe $40 billion, tops. And remember to whisper when in the library, where Mr. Annan’s scribes are even now busy crafting the next round of tributes to the U.N. family, though freedom does not figure large in the household lexicon. More typical was Mr. Annan’s call on Monday, for “all Iraqis to come together in a spirit of national unity and reconciliation, through a process of open dialogue and consensus-building, to lay down secure foundations for the new Iraq”–a process Mr. Annan somehow manages to imply was already under way under Saddam, until, to the U.N.’s great annoyance, it was interrupted for 15 months by the U.S.-led coalition.

France moved to normalize business ties with Iraq on Monday, just hours after the U.S.-led coalition occupying the country announced it had transferred sovereignty to an interim government two days ahead of schedule.

The French Finance Ministry said in a statement that full economic ties with Iraq will be restored immediately following Monday’s hand-over of power to the country’s interim government . . .

The French statement said Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy had promised to normalize ties during a June 22 visit by his Iraqi counterpart, Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

It is not a documentary which seeks to present the facts truthfully. The most significant offense that movie commits is to cheapen the political debate by dehumanizing the President and presenting him as a cartoon.

Gwendolyn Tose’-Rigell, the principal at Emma E. Booker Elementary School (“I don’t think anyone could have handled it better,” Tose’-Rigell told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in a story published Wednesday. “What would it have served if he had jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room?” ), that banner carrier of The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, the Chicago Sun Times

In December 1997, a delegation from Afghanistan’s ruling and ruthless Taliban visited the United States to meet with an oil and gas company that had extensive dealings in Texas. The company, Unocal, was interested in building a natural gas line through Afghanistan. Moore implies that Bush, who was then governor of Texas, met with the delegation.

But, as Gannett News Service points out, Bush did not meet with the Taliban representatives. What’s more, Clinton administration officials did sit down with Taliban officials, and the delegation’s visit was made with the Clinton administration’s permission.

Will anyone care that the movie, viewed as either art or journalism, is a mess? “Fahrenheit 9/11” has a Palme d’Or from the Cannes film festival — and now the implicit endorsement of the Democratic Party establishment.

This embrace of Moore’s crackpottery is great news for Moore, very bad news for Democrats — just as the GOP’s kooky flirtations under Clinton did damage it has yet to recover from.

The Democrats are losers when embracing Moore’s poisonous narcissism for the uninformed.

I’D like to make a doc umentary entitled “What We’re Up Against.” I’d include the following:

* Scenes from the destruction of the World Trade Center: jets crashing, people jumping from the upper floors, the towers’ collapse, the months-long digging through the rubble — and the excruciating body-identification task faced by the medical examiner’s office.

* The “beheading videos” — from reporter Daniel Pearl right through to Korean Kim Sun-il.

* The charred and mutilated bodies of four Halliburton workers hanging from a bridge in Fallujah.

* Post terror-bombing scenes from Bali, Madrid, and Istanbul. Ditto for Riyadh, but with additional footage of the recent attack showing the 22 victims whose throats were slit.